At the end of a long workday or a night out, it feels great to kick off your shoes. The relief can be instant—unless you’ve been walking in heels or dancing in tight shoes. When your foot hits the floor, you may feel sharp pain in the ball of your foot.
This pain often comes from strain in the muscles, ligaments, and joints where the arch meets your toes. The technical name is metatarsalgia. It happens when the tissues in the ball of your foot become irritated or inflamed. Sports, dancing, or shoes that force the foot into an unnatural position are common causes. Barbie may handle that posture easily—your feet, however, are made of bone and tissue, not rubber.
Sometimes the pain fades once you get out of your shoes. When it doesn’t, you’ll need a plan to relieve it.
Using R.I.C.E.
When inflammation causes pain in the ball of your foot, the R.I.C.E. method often helps.
Rest: Taking the weight off your feet for a while and freeing them from offending shoes will sometimes work wonders.
Ice: Applying cold to inflamed tissue reduces the burning sensation and the spread of inflammation. Applying ice for 10 – 15 minutes will constrict the blood vessels temporarily, stopping the swelling. When the feet are then allowed to return to normal temperature, the blood flow will resume, moving the inflammatory agents out of the tissue and bringing relief.
Compression: While shoes that fit too tightly can cause foot pain, a properly fitting shoe that your foot doesn’t slide around in can help to relieve it; we are using the term ‘compression’ loosely here when it comes to treating pain in the ball of your foot. Compression in the more traditional form of a tensor bandage wrapped around the foot can also be helpful for some forms of foot pain as it reduces swelling and supports the strained tendons and ligaments.
Elevation: Sitting with your feet elevated will help to reduce swelling and improve circulation, which in turn will relieve mild foot pain.Massage Can Help
Massaging tired feet can often bring instant relief from pain in the ball of your foot, but it can be awkward to do for yourself. A tennis ball works great for this purpose.
- Sit comfortably in a chair with your feet on the floor.
- Place a tennis ball under your foot. (You can buy spiky balls made just for this purpose, but you might want to try it first with whatever you have on hand to see if it’s right for you before spending the money.)
- Roll the ball around under your foot until you feel a sensitive spot (pressure point).
- Hold for 3 to 5 minutes. Don’t keep rolling the ball around, you need to rest on the pressure point for the specified time. This technique works for many types of foot pain, not just pain at the ball of your foot.
But when you just want to sit back and pamper yourself and your aching feet, you need a massage therapist you can trust. The highly trained professionals at Easy Cozy Wellness in Nanaimo, BC specialize in foot massage. Using acupressure points and techniques, they can bring relief to every inch of your tired feet. Call Easy Cozy Wellness today and see just how good your feet can feel.
For a broad overview of many different types of foot pain, read our new article, Finding Foot Pain Relief.
References
- Mayo Clinic “Metatarsalgia”
- Healthline “3 Massages for Pressure Points on Feet”
Attribution
Feature Image used under license from Freestock.com